Wednesday 30 March 2011

Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches: 2KCBWDAY3

Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches: 2KCBWDAY3
How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.


I am quite organized - but I allow things to get a bit messy, because I enjoy tidying it all up again: it gives me the opportunity to rummage and re-find stuff that I'd forgotten about. Also, if it didn't get messy in the first place, how would you (DH, I'm talking to you) be able to tell if I'd tidied up at all ?

So here is my knitting corner, which is at my end of the sofa.:


You would so pity me and question my levels of medication, if by chance you saw me when anyone else sits in my seat: it is quite pathetically sad. I droop, mope and wander around aimlessly like a dog whose bed is drying on the washing line. And no, I cannot knit in some other seat - my seat has the lamp where I want it, and all my bits and pieces right to hand, and I'd have to lug them - oh, as much as 2 feet, I guess - to get to another lamplit position.

So here's a bit of a close-up so I can bore you rigid explain exactly what you're looking at:

The coffee jar holding my straight needles has been decorated by Mini Diva; a hibernating project (Willow Leaf Stole:skinny silk on skinny needles); the knitting books and magazines are under the artistically arranged 'good' stash in a pretty seagrass basket; a scented candle and some luxury cream from my friend Jude over at Saffron Barr; Mini Diva's knitting (the Battenburg colors) and Destructo Boy's blue knitting .... well, he likes to have it in his lap sometimes when watching TV and then thinks he's knitting.

More 'good' stash in another pretty basket; a scissor-holding hedgehog, a gift from one of my 5 sisters-in-law that shows she actually thought of me and what I do (which makes me love it so much); embroidery scissors (one of about 5 different types gifted to me some while ago by my father); pin box with ordinary pins, knitting pins, and needles of all kinds stuck in the top. No, I tell you, that is not a sock-knitting book.

I shan't tell you about my notions bag, as that is really messy right now: I need a crochet hook roll and some teeny boxes or bags or something - I'll save that post for another time. Instead, moving right along now to the stash:













That massive Blue Tub of Mystery lives on top of my wardrobe and is filled with yarns of all kinds, most of which are waiting for me to find the perfect project for them. I have very few leftovers right now, as I gifted them all to Mini Diva's school crafting group, but those I do have are in the carrier bag in the right hand picture: they are waiting until they irritate DH enough with their passive trip-hazard existence to pull down the Blue Tub of Mystery for me, since I don't want to die quite yet. The pink tub and wicker baskets we are ignoring, as those are sewing, quilting and shoe stashes.

And as I mentioned in my post yesterday, Ravelry provides one of the easiest, quickest ways to organize one's knitting: I tend to use it mainly for projects, as I forget to photograph yarn until it's been used in a finished project. I see no point in cataloging my needles, as I mainly use straights, and I can see those in my jar; however, I guess could use a listing of my circularsso that I don't keep buying the same sizes over and over again.

And that's it. I have finally run out of steam on this topic ....you could keep your thankful sighs of relief a bit quieter, please .....

17 comments:

  1. Too much tidiness is not healthy. Come look at my mess. tee hee.

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  2. This post made me laugh so much. I am exactly the same if someone sits in my seat.

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  3. I am like that when I go home for break, I have a certain seat that has the best lighting and is right near where I am allowed to store my yarn and I get sad if someone sites there and wont move so I can have "my" seat back XD

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  4. I have a spot on the sofa as well, I can't knit anywhere else and no one is allowed to sit there but me!

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  5. I love your knitting corner. I need one of those! You sound pretty organized to me.

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  6. Your description of yourself if someone sits in your seat is perfect!

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  7. I'd love to have room for my own little corner, with everything all in one place, I always have to locate my knitting from where it was last seen. Having said that, my seat is my seat, no one sits there ever ;)

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  8. I think ur really organized. Love the knitting corner

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  9. Clearly you need me to mess up your corner. tee hee.

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  10. LOL PPB - I remind me of Sheldon from the 'Big Bang Theory' except I have some social skills LOL

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  11. My knitting chair's been moved away while we're selling the house & it's good and bad. I'm not as comfortable but I'm not as resentful when someone else sits down ;)

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  12. I know what you mean about messing stuff up and then finding things you didn't remember you had while cleaning up. Jackpot!

    I totally thought of Sheldon's obsession with 'his seat' too.

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  13. Vivianne, yours X 1000 is mine. And yes, I am chicken.

    Renee :)

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  14. When I grow up I want to be you. No really. That is the level of tidy I aim for.

    Also, I totally identify with the chair thing. Other people can NOT sit on my end of the couch, or we're going to have a scene.

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  15. I thought I was the only knitter who became uneasy when my knitting spot is taken. It makes me feel less quirky to know that I am not alone.

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  16. Not a sock knitting book, eh? *waggles fingers* Come over to the dark side :)
    I love your baskets. Very lovely! And I completely understand "your" seat. Whenever anyone comes over and plops themselves down in my spot, I usually wander around aimlessly. Nowhere else is quite as comfortable!

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  17. I love your method of ordered mess, something that really rings true with me :D

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Thanks ! I love comments :-)